Once On This Island
by Scarpaw
Summary: There is an Island, where the rivers run deep. Where the sea, sparkling in the sun, earns it the name 'Jewel of the Antilles'... A tragic love story, between a rich prince and poor peasant who are in love but aren't able to marry. AU Vaseshipping


Woot! A WIP that was being worked on for a year and a half is finally done! Totalling at 14,315 words excluding title and ending signature and AN's!

As you read this, you'll probably notice that the writing style changes; that is the fact that this has been worked on for 1 1/2 yrs. There may be a few tense problems that I didn't locate, but I assure you that this is supposed to be past-tense.

This is based off the musical my school did my freshman year. It's pretty much a Romeo-Juliet type of thing.

**Pairings: **Vaseshipping and TeaxAtem (Don't we all love that? No? All right.) and you can view some MahaadoxIsis too.

**WARNING: THERE IS CHARACTER DEATH!**

That said, I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the Musical 'Once on this Island'**

_**Once On This Island**_

Thunder exploded as lightning crackled, illuminating a circle of figures camped around a fire. Behind the group there are four pedestals, which are revealed by a second crack. A woman with flowers twined in her hair, arms in front of her as if holding out some sort of fruit; a man, tattooed with a wave; a boy with star shaped hair, cradling his hands to his heart; another boy, crouched down as if he was getting ready to attack. A kid cries out against the thunder, and the figures in the circle hurry over to shush her crying.

"There is an island, where the rivers run deep," One woman crooned, scooping the little girl into her arms. The girl is blonde, and her name is Rebecca.

"Where the sea, sparkling in the sun, earns it the name, Jewel of the Antilles," A man added, sitting by the woman's side.

"An island," A younger girl piped up over the crashing thunder, blue eyes flashing sympathetically, "Where the poorest of peasants labor."

"And the wealthiest of grandhommes play," A second man threw in, lightning flickering in the background, illuminating his crimson eyes.

"Two different worlds, on one island;" Another chimed in, glaring at the crimson eyed man with distaste in his garnet eyes.

"The grandhommes, with their pale brown skins and their French ways," A girl with white hair scoffed. "Owners of the land and masters of their own fates."

"And the peasants, eternally at the mercy of the wind and the sea," A boy with doe brown eyes told the child. "Who pray constantly… to the gods."

As one, the figures on the pedestals rose up and stepped off the pedestals as their respective gods were called.

"Amane, grow me a garden," The first woman called, a brunette with sparkling blue eyes and roses twined in her hair stepping gently off the pedestal. Green leaves were tattooed along her bare arms, and her green dress swayed as she stepped towards the center of the circle.

"Ryuuji, don't flood my garden." The man next to the first woman pleaded, the second figure stepping off their pedestal. He had brown hair and eyes, hair dripping down over his face. He had a tattoo of a wave on his chest and wore an outfit of seaweed and net.

"Ryou, who will my love be?" Two blue eyed girls asked, looking up as the third figure stepped off the pedestal. The boy had amethyst eyes and tricolored hair; black, red, and blonde. There were pink swirls lining the edge of his face, forming a half heart; he wore an outfit of light blue.

"Bakura," The whole group chimed as the last figure stood and stepped off the pedestal. "Don't come around me." The last figure wore all black and had blonde hair and lavender eyes. He looked like a skeleton, white tattooed around most of his tanned body.

"Ah, such powerful, such temperamental Gods rule our island," The original woman spoke, four people rising from the circle and taking their place next to the respective figures who had stepped off the pedestals.

"Amane, Mother of the Earth." A white haired girl stated giving a small curtsy, as her forest green eyes smiled. She wore a grass skirt with flowers weaved through and a top consisting of a mix of flowers and leaves. Her ski was tinted with green, leaf tattoos lining her arms and a crown of flowers on her head.

"Ryuuji, God of Water." A boy with black hair and emerald green eyes smirked. Skin tinted a blue ocean color, a wave cascaded over his shoulder by form of tattoo. He wore an outfit of seaweed and fishing net.

"Ryou, Beautiful God of Love," A silver haired boy smiled. He wore a sleeveless purple robe, showing the swirling pink lines on his arms that ended to form hearts on his hands.

"And Bakura," The last God gave a fanged grin. No tattoos adorned his features as he wore an all black outfit that contrasted with his grey hair, slightly matching his garnet eyes. "Sly Demon of Death." He laughed as all the figures in the circle begin to stand.

"Amane, grow me a garden," The women asked, said Goddess smiling as her young follower spun over to the group, a small patch of flowers appearing in front of the women.

"Please Ryuuji, don't flood my garden." The men looked towards the God of Water, who merely nodded his head, which leave the men sighing in relief.

"Ryou, who will my love be?" Some of the younger girls asked the Love God, in a small flock of their own, gazing enviously over towards a group of boys their age. With a wave of his hand, a few of the boys started making their way to talk to the girls.

"Bakura, don't come around me." They all said together. "Please Ryuuji don't flood my garden; Amane, grow me a garden!" The Gods smiled, coming together in their own cluster at the center of the circle as the group lines up side by side forming the circle.

"We dance," The men stated as the women echoed,

"We dance."

"To the music of the Gods," They sang together. "The music of the breezes through the green plantain." A breeze shuffles briefly through the circle as the group continues. "The murmur of the river and the roar of rain! And if the Gods decide to send a hurricane…"

"We dance," The women started this time.

"We dance," The men echoed.

"To their ever changing moods!" Amane smiled as she steps forward.

"We know the Gods are happy when the green things grow," She proclaimed, stepping back as Ryuuji came forward.

"They're angry when the river starts to overflow," He added, stepping back into their own group as the villagers go on by themselves.

"And since we never know which way the winds will blow," They chimed, spinning in a circle as if they were being buffeted by wind.

"We dance to the earth," The villagers said, miming the motion of carrying something heavy, "We dance to the water." They made motions of the waves of the ocean.

"The gods awake and we take no chance!" They lifted their hands in prayer before dropping quickly down in a crouch similar to the being that had been on the pedestal. They bounced up quickly though.

"Our hearts hear the song," The villagers held their hands over their hearts, "Our feet move along," The villagers stomped their feet, "And to the music of the gods, we dance!"

"On the other side of this island," A brunette with short hair and cerulean eyes stated, stepping forward in the circle, "Safe behind high walls and iron gates, the grandhommes dance to a different tune."

"La la la la, la la la." The circle broke off, forming two individual groups; the grandhommes and the peasants.

"They drink champagne," A crimson eyed boy proclaimed, hair matching the figure off the pedestal. "Entertain tourists at their fine hotels and tell their servants, 'Polish up the Mercedes!'"

"La la la la, la la la." The groups seemed to chant as Bakura came forward.

"Two different worlds, never mean to meet." He stated.

"The peasants labor," Ryuuji commented offhandedly.

"The grandhomme eat," Amane's lips curled into a look of distaste.

"How fine our clothes are," The grandhommes chanted, "How fast we drive! We dance at parties…"

"While we are dancing just to stay alive!" The peasants called.

"We dance!" They all said together. "What else is there to do?"

"But plant the seed and pull the weed and chop the cane!" The men said.

"And bear the child and bear the load and bear the pain!" The women grimaced.

"And as the rich go racing to their own refrain," All the gods looked together towards the grand homes, as everybody broke into the previous refrain.

"We dance to the earth, we dance to the water," The villagers were repeating. "The gods awake and we take no chance! Our hearts hear the song, our feet move along and to the music of the gods…"

"We dance to the earth," The villagers repeated again as Bakura stepped forward, beckoning two figures from the separate groups to step forward. "We dance to the water. The gods awake and we take no chance!"

"Two different worlds," He smirked, the crimson eyed boy stepping forward from the grandhommes. "Never meant to meet." A young brunette with sapphire eyes stepped forward from the peasants. "But if the gods move our feet!" The two bumped into each other, but before they could do anything, they were already moving back to their respective groups as they chanted as a whole,

"We dance! We dance! We dance!"

Thunder crackled once again as lightning flickered, blinding everyone. As the light faded, the figures were back on the pedestal, the Gods were gone, and everyone was sitting on the ground in a circle.

"Once on this island," A man was continuing the story for the little girl. "There was a terrible storm. Many huts washed away; many peasants drowned by Ryuuji's angry waters."

"But one small girl caught his attention," The girl with cerulean eyes crooned to the girl again, who cried out as the thunder crackled.

"And she was spared," Ryuuji commented, standing on the outside of the circle. "An orphan, plucked from the flood by Ryuuji."

"Sheltered," Amane added on the other side of the circle, across from Ryuuji. "In a tree by Amane."

"And sent on a journey by the gods," Ryou stated from his position at the top of the circle, in front of the pedestals. "A journey that would test the strength of love…"

"Against the power of Death," Bakura snarled, appearing across from Ryou, glaring at him venomously.

"On this island of two different worlds," They said together, eyes never moving. Then, as one, everybody said,

"The story of Mana." Lightning flickered once more, and the circle of storytellers was gone. In its place was a tree, the little girl perched precariously on one of the branches.

"One small girl," Their voices echoed through the scene as the wind snapped the trees branches violently. "In a tree; torn from her mother, crying in fright. One small girl, tossed by sea and left to face the stormy night. One small girl, holding tight."

"At last the storm subsided," They chanted, the wind ending, the clouds parting. "And the morning sun glowed. And two old peasants came cautiously down the road." The sun appeared from behind the clouds and two people came down the road.

"Isis," The one exclaimed.

"Mahaado," The other, Isis, said back. "Amane is smiling again Mahaado."

"This morning she smiles," Mahaado grimaced. "Last night, she tried to blow our heads off!" Isis gave a faint smile as she rested a hand on Mahaado's arm.

"Ah Mahaado, just listen to those birds!" She urged as the storytellers starting cooing like birds.

"Coo, coo coo, coo, coo coo!" They sang. "Coo, coo coo, coo, coo coo!" Amidst their singing, the girl cried out as thunder grumbled in reality again.

"What kind of bird is that?" Mahaado asked, hearing her cry. Isis stepped under the tree, and then pointed up.

"Look, there!" She called, smiling at the little girl. "One small face, two small knees."

"Why are you up there?" Mahaado turned his head up, looking at the girl.

"What is your name?" Isis looked at the girl, before sighing and shaking her head. "The girl can't speak."

"And they're to blame!" Mahaado jabbed his hand up towards the sky. "Ryuuji probably meant to kill her!" Isis shook her head, a bit aghast.

"Then she'd be dead!" She proclaimed. Mahaado scoffed in reply.

"It's possible he forgot." He offered as an answer, while Isis shook her head.

"The gods don't forget!" Isis admonished.

"Then they had some reason to spare her life…"

"It's best if we don't know what…" They stated together, looking at the girl. "One small girl… better not."

From behind the tree, Ryou grimaced, peering out towards the couple.

_Take the girl._ He silently urged, watching for a change- watching for them to change their minds. Slowly, their expressions changed.

"But… we are too old for children!" Mahaado finally protested. Ryou sighed and took a step away from the tree and beckoned them back. They hesitated once again.

"And we have no room, and no food…" Isis chimed, but it's a weak defense. It only takes one more beckon from Ryou.

"And not knowing quite why," Ryou smiled to himself, watching from the side. "They gently lift the terrified child down…"

"No!" The girl protested as Mahaado lifted her from the tree, none of the three hearing Ryou's laugh.

"And discover that she can speak after all." Ryou disappeared as he watched the three disappear back to the village. The scenery immediately begins to meld together, recreating the appearance of a village, a few days after the girl arrives.

"One small girl," The men looked up at the dancing girl, making her way around everything and everybody.

"In the way," The women sighed, glancing at the girl from their wash and gardens.

"Constantly hungry," Isis smiled, taking the girl in her arms.

"Learning to quick," Mahaado poked the girl in the side teasingly.

"One small girl, hard at play," Everybody seemed to echo as she went back to her playing.

"She makes me smile," Mahaado admitted after she had been with them for a little over a week, while Isis only replied with what a natural mother would,

"She scares me sick!"

Ryou giggled, appearing on an empty cart, watching the days fly by.

"And they scolded and teased and held her," He mused, watching at the scenes fly by. "And mended the clothes she tore."

"And the hut was crowded and food was scarce, but somehow their lives held more," The storytellers chimed in, "One small girl, to live for."

"The named her Annalise Desiree, or God Given Desire," Ryou looked down at the girl, age eight now. "But in their affection, they called her simply Mana."

"What does Mana mean Mama?" Mana asked, bouncing on her heels in front of Isis. Isis gave the small girl a fond smile and patted her cheek lightly.

"It means little orphan, saved by the Gods for something special." Isis told Mana.

"What is it?" Mana pressed, and Isis laughed.

"If we knew that then we would be God's ourselves!" Mana pouted, but her expression quickly changed.

"One day I'm going to ask them Mama!" And she was off whirling, out of the hut, weeks and months and years passing in the blink of an eye.

"Sweet as a eucalypts and terrible as a tempest," The storytellers said as time flows by. "Banging a drum and humming a tune, Mana."

"Falling and running and calling," The storytellers seemed to be chronicling her growth. "And growing and growing and growing and growing, up too soon!" As if time stopped its fast forward, Mana is already sixteen years old.

"One small girl," Mahaado said, glancing at Mana now, but remembering when they first found her.

"Not so small," Isis corrected, watching as her -adopted- daughter danced to unheard music.

"Lost in those daydreams," Mahaado watched as well as she bows to an unseen audience.

"Day after day." Isis gazed as all too soon Mana was off skipping down the beach side, stopping and looking at every interesting rock she spotted on the ground.

"Call her name," Mahaado made to call out for her, but Isis stopped him with a shake of her head.

"No don't call," And Mahaado nodded in understanding as they speak together.

"Her ears don't hear, she's far away." They nodded as they started off in the opposite direction of their adopted daughter.

"And I know that she's getting older," Mahaado spoke finally.

"I know that it's meant to be," Isis sighed, looking as Mana stops what she's doing to watch a car race by.

"And my arms can't hold her and keep her small," They looked as Mana goes off again. "But all that my heart can see is one small girl…"

"One small girl," The men echoed, women following with the same line,

"One small girl…"

"In a tree," Mahaado and Isis sighed, entering the hut.

The scene slides over to where Mana was, watching the car fade in the distance.

"A stranger in white," She sighed as it disappeared completely. "In a car. Going somewhere, going far!" She smiled, giddiness enveloping her.

"Oh how it must feel to go racing wherever you please!" She practically squealed, skipping down the beach. "Flying as free as a bird with his tail in the breeze! Even the fish in the sea must be longing to fly, catching a glimpse of a stranger in white racing by!" Mana stopped at the docks, looking up to the sky, clasping her hands together as she spoke.

"Oh Gods, oh Gods, are you there?" She asked. "What can I do to get you to look down and give in? Oh Gods, oh Gods, hear my prayer! I'm here in the field with my feet on the ground and fate in the air, waiting for life to begin!" Mana dropped her hands down, and continued down the beach, still speaking to the Gods.

"Mama's contented and Mahaado accepts what he gets," Mana informeds the Gods, knowing that they probably knew this anyways. "Happy for tea in their cups and no holes in their nets. Happy to have what they have and to stay where they are; they never even look up at the sound of a car!" Mana's attention drifted away for a split second, watching as another car roars by.

"A stranger," She sighed again. "Racing down the beach! Racing to places, I was meant to reach! My stranger! One day you'll arrive; your car will stop and in I'll hop and off we'll drive! We'll drive!" Mana clasped her hands together once more and looked up again.

"Oh Gods, oh Gods, are you there?" She looked up towards the cloudless sky. "Don't you remember your little Mana from the tree? Wake up, look down, hear my prayer! Don't single me out, then forget me! Oh Gods, oh Gods, let me fly!"

"Send me to places no one before me has been!" She pleaded. "You spared my life, show me why!" Mana watches as one of the village men catches a fish, grimacing as it matches her situation.

"You get me to rise like a fish to the bait, then tell me to wait! Well, I'm waiting!" Mana practically shouted. "Waiting for life to begin!" As an echo, the storyteller's voices spoke once more.

"One small girl," The women's voices piped.

"One small girl," The men added as well.

"Waiting for life to begin!" Mana shouted once more, as the storyteller's voices rose, repeating the line.

"One small girl… One small girl…"

Thunder clapped in the reality and the scenery changed.

"And the Gods heard her prayer!" Anzu informes them as amidst the cloudy scenery, five figures were made into existence, three of them laughing.

"The peasant girl wants a grand home to carry her away!" Amane laughed. "I should find a tree all covered in mangos," Next to her, her underling, Shizuka, produced a mango in her hand. "Juicy mangos fat and well fed! Pick a mango," Amane picked the mango out of Shizuka's hand.

"A juicy mango," Ryuuji stated, taking the mango from Amane, tossing it from hand to hand. It sailed out of his reach, and Ryou snatched it from midair.

"A lovely mango," Ryou smiled, before scowling as Bakura so rudely took it from him.

"A poison mango!" He quipped nastily, before Amane snatched the mango back, holding it up as if she was the mangos branch on its tree. Below them was an image of Mana's room in the hut.

"Drop the mango," Amane dropped the mango, it hitting the nonexistent ground and not reaching Mana.

"Boom!" They all chimed needlessly.

"And knock some sense in her head!" Amane grinned, while Ryuuji and Bakura agreed.

"Knock some sense in her head," They repeated.

"Splash her with a wave," Ryuuji suggested, glancing at the peasant.

"Scar her half to death," Bakura sniffed, as Ryou sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Give her want she wants," He gave his idea, not recoiling as the others glance at him like he was insane.

"Give her what she-?" They started, and Ryou cut through, a serene smile on his face.

"Give her what she wants," Ryou repeated, gazing lovingly down at the young girl. "Love has many powers, if the love is true." Ryou looked up at the others, addressing them each in turn. "It can cross the earth and withstand the storm, it can conquer," Ryou jabbed Bakura in the chest. "Even you." Bakura laughed snidely.

"Hah! Love conquer Death? Why I could stop her heart like that!" Bakura snapped his fingers, and Ryou glared at him. Nothing exists but him and Bakura right then, Amane and Ryuuji the sole audience as Shizuka had vanished, the only other souls being Malik, Bakura's underling, and Yugi, who was Ryou's.

"Stop her heart from beating, yes!" Ryou snapped. "But not from loving! Not if love is what she chooses!"

"Ridiculous!" Bakura scoffed, and Ryuuji and Amane decided to add their two cents.

"Interesting," Ryuuji commented idly.

"More amusing than mangos." Amane chimed, and the four fall silent, and then their heads snap up in unison, having the same thought.

"A journey."

"I will give her strength, when the time is right," Ryou said, stepping away from Bakura, him and Yugi vanishing from sight.

"I will guide her way," Amane's voice left no room for argument as she disappeared as well.

"I will make her…" Bakura pause, as if pondering, then stated, "Choose." Malik disappeared, but Bakura remained, waiting for what Ryuuji had to say.

"And I will provide the place where two different worlds," Ryuuji volunteered at last. "Will meet, tonight." Ryuuji's underling, Honda, appeared by his side as Bakura stoopped and picked up the mango, it starting to rot in his touch.

"Tonight," He raised the mango as it completely rotted away as he disappeared, leaving Ryuuji and Honda alone in the clouds.

"Let there be no moon," Ryuuji commanded as he started looking as if he's walking down steps. Honda stayed; something had caught his eye. "Let the clouds race by. Where the road meets the sea let the tide be high."

There… In the midst of the moving clouds. It was Malik that Honda had spotted. Malik gave Honda a smirk as they slowly started to circle each other, as if getting ready for battle.

"Let there be a girl," Ryuuji continued, taking no notice of Malik and Honda. Below, in the village, Mana stirred in her bed, before sitting up in a trance like state. Getting out of bed, Mana left the hut, leaving it behind as she walked towards the sea. "Walking by the sea! And let there be… rain!"

"Rain!" Was echoed by everybody as the clouds let loose a torrential downpour as Honda made the first attack. He leaped at Malik, who easily side stepped the attack from the other. Honda may be the follower of Water, by Malik was the follower of Death, and Death always won.

"Listen to her prayers," Ryuuji mocked, looking as Mana of her own volition stared at the road. "Full of hope and pain! As she stares down the road in the pouring rain!" He grinned as the rain became heavier.

"Rain on the road, rain on her face," He watched as Mana just stood there, doing nothing. "Rain makes the road such a dangerous place!" He snapped his fingers and lightning struck the road. Mana did not flinch in her trance like state, but as the lightning cleared, it showed Honda and Malik rolling around in the middle of the road, in their fight. It appeared that Ryuuji had known what was going on.

"Let there be a car," Ryuuji seemed to order, "Racing through the night, where the road meets the sea! Let her wait where the road meets the sea!" A car was racing down the road, and Malik and Honda took no notice of it in their fighting and animalistic snarling.

As the driver of the car couldn't see the two from the heavy rain, he only saw them when it was too late. He screeched his brakes while Malik and Honda disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Let him spin where the road meets the sea!" Ryuuji cackled as the car crashed and the driver was ejected. "Let their fate begin in the rain!" Lightning crashes once more as the rain dies off, and as the thunder roars for the final time, Ryuuji snaps his fingers, breaking Mana's trance. She blinked, looking around for a second before seeing the crashed vehicle.

"Help!" She cried out, racing towards the figure lying on the ground a few feet from the vehicle. "Someone come quickly! A car has crashed!" Kneeling by the figure, she asked tentatively,

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

"His skin is so pale, she thinks," Shizuka said, stepping forward, standing slightly over the girl.

"Can you see me?" Mana asked instead, trying to illicit a response.

"His eyes open for a moment," Malik stated, shaking water from his hair as he stepped down by Shizuka's side.

"Eyes, from another world," Yugi chimed, standing with the other two.

"Red as the sunrise," The three said together, Honda joining as well.

"Oh Gods, oh Gods," Mana dropped to her knees briefly in prayer. "You saved my life for a reason, and now I think I know why…" As one the peasants seemed to appear, the four Gods standing above the scene, acting as puppeteers.

"He roared down the road like the devil himself!" Ryuuji's voice rose above the mutterings.

"Going too fast around the curves!" Amane shouted.

"Sent us scrambling off the road like chickens!" Bakura yelled almost gleefully as they all chimed, "He has what he deserves!"

"Bakura wants him," One of the men said as another agreed.

"And Bakura will have him! The boy is dying before our eyes!"

"Help him!" Ryou's voice cut through the din as another person threw out, "Hide him!"

"No!" Mahaado's voice cut through as he and Isis arrived. "Don't touch him, better leave him where he lies. Even a wealthy man sometime dies." Mana turned towards her parents frantically.

"Please!" She begged. "He needs help!" Mahaado shook his head.

"If this boy dies in our hands, the rich will send police!" He told her.

"He needs care!" Mana added. Isis disagreed.

"And if he lives, oh how angry the Gods will be!" Isis told her daughter.

"The only thing that will save the boys life is to send him back to his world," Ryuuji and Bakura tossed in from their spots in the crowd.

"The only thing that will save the boy's life is me!" Mana declared, shocking the Gods. Who knew she would act so impertinently? "Please Mahaado!" Mahaado looked thoughtful, as Isis touched her husband's arm lightly, worrying.

"I will find where he comes from." Mahaado said at last, and Isis gasped, shaking her head.

"Mahaado, no!" She gasped, tears collecting in her eyes. But Mahaado shook his head.

"I will find who he is and soon," Mahaado determined. "But till I return, you care for him Mana."

And as Mahaado said goodbye to his wife and daughter, the peasants formed a line.

"And her long vigil began," Ryuuji sneered, looking as Isis and Mana made their way back to the hut, following two of the men who were carrying the boy.

"One day gone by," The peasants recited. "And two days gone by."

"The boy has the will of the devil himself!" Ryuuji called from his pedestal.

"Clinging to life by one small thread!" Amane chimed, looking down from her seat on her pedestal.

"If it wasn't for Mahaado's daughter…" Bakura trailed, eyes glinting murderously from his pedestal.

"He'd certainly be dead!" The peasants finished Bakura's thought as if it were their own.

"Look how she bathes him," Amane cried, "And touches and protects him!" The boys shook their heads.

"She binds his wounds and she rubs his chest," Ryuuji and Bakura called together.

"It's as if the girl's possessed!" The peasants all shouted.

"You need food," Isis sighed, looking at her daughter. "You need sleep. You just can't go on without any sleep!

"Mama, shhh!" Mana shushed her mother.

"Have some tea," Isis suggested restlessly.

"His skin is hot," Mana mumbled to herself.

"Have a rest," Isis raised her voice so Mana could hear.

"He needs me here!" Mana raised her voice, and the two shouted at each other,

"Can't you see how much this matters to me? I know what's best!" Glaring, the two resolutely set back to their tasks as Ryou watched worriedly from the shadows, spying Bakura prowling across the room from him.

Isis looked out the window, speaking at the same time as the peasants.

"Now the sky is growing dim, and clouds are racing by," They murmured worriedly. "And the Gods are looking down at a boy they meant to die, and a girl who placed herself in their way. Pray!" They all clasped their hands together in prayer. "Pray!"

"Three days gone by." They ticked off the days. "And four days gone by."

"I fear for the girl and her mother as well," Ryuuji finally admitted on the fifth day, and Amane nodded.

"Nothing but trouble looms ahead," She agreed.

"Monsiuer Mahaado could be deep in danger," The peasants stated, "Arrested, lost, or dead!"

Far away, Mahaado looked up at the pitch black sky.

"Oh, Amane, Mother of the Earth," He prayed, Amane appearing at a nearby tree, looking at him with a bit of a worried look. "Guide the feet of this poor peasant man! Hear my prayer, which way there? And which way home?" With a sad sigh, Amane waved her hand towards his destination, leaves on the tree billowing in the wind. Mahaado followed it, sure that it was a sign.

"I need herbs," Mana said worriedly, looking at the boy.

"Your father gone!" Isis was pacing the hut, looking outside as the storm brewed, as if Mahaado would appear out of the forest, safe and alive.

"Mama herbs!" Mana repeated, looking at her mother.

"And you don't care!" Isis turned on her daughter. "Oh my god, what has this boy done to you?"

"Mama shh," Mana shushed her mother once more.

"Your father lost," Isis continued talking anyways.

"He needs rest!" Mana's voice echoed again.

"Because of you!" Isis accused, glaring at her daughter.

"He needs care!" Mana repeated.

"Can't you see that he's in terrible danger?" The two said, speaking of different people. "What must I do?" Thunder grumbled a warning as there was a flicker of lightning in the distance.

"Now the sky is turning dark," Isis said, looking out the window. "The wind is turning chill. And the God's are out for blood; they've been cheated of their kill. By a girl without the sense to obey… Pray!" Clasping her hands in prayer, Isis turned to their small altar in their house. "Pray!"

Finally Isis couldn't take it anymore, and she burst out of the hut, screaming,

"Mahaado! Where is my Mahaado? Bring my Mahaado home!" The Gods sighed and turned their backs on the scene, looking at a different one.

"You want what?" A dog eared blonde guard sneered at Mahaado.

"I've come so far and I need…" Mahaado tried to explain himself, stepping towards the guard, but the guard recoiled and cut him off.

"Get back!" He shouted.

"I have some news for Monsieur," Mahaado was impatient, the boy could be dead by now!

"Get back!" The guard shouted once more as Mahaado reached towards him once more.

"Monsieur Akunadin has a-!" Mahaado tried once more, but was cut off again.

"Peasant pig!" The guard shouted, slapping Mahaado across the face.

"Please I beg!" Mahaado simpered from the ground. The guard scoffed and turned away.

"You must be mad," The guard sniffed.

"I must see Monsieur!" Mahaado begged, and the guard shook his head trying not to laugh.

"Monsieur Akunadin!" He laughed.

"I have come so far!" Mahaado pleaded, and the guard glared at him, holding his weapon.

"So far to die!" The guard snarled, sick of the games.

"I have found his son!" Mahaado cried at the last minute. The guard reconsidered, and grabbed Mahaado's arm and hauled him inside.

"Now the sky has turned to black," The peasants and Isis recited, "And the wind is like a knife. Bakura is coming back for the boy who clings to life, and the girl will have the Gods to repay… Pray!" They clasped their hands in prayer once more.

"Bakura, don't come around me," Isis asked the God, and they all shouted,

"Pray! Bakura don't come around me!"

"Pray! Bakura don't come around me!" They shouted once more.

"Pray! Bakura don't come around me!"

"Pray!" Isis's voice rose above the others as they all chanted,

"Bakura don't come around me!" Isis's voice raised to a wail as they all cried,

"Pray!" Thunder crackling as lightning crashed down to Earth.

"And Mana withdrew into her mind," The brunette from the beginning recited, standing in the middle of the story circle. "Some say she didn't hear the wind or the rain; just the beating of the boy's heart."

The light dimmed.

"Sure as a wave needs to be near the shore," Mana said, clasping her hand to the boys'. "You are the one I was intended for. Deep in your eyes, I saw the God's design; now my life is forever yours, and you are mine."

Ryou gave a small smile from the one side of the cabin. At least it was obvious that she was devoted to him.

"I am a tree, holding away the storm," Mana crooned, pulling the sick boy onto her lap, stroking his multicolored hair. "Here in my arms, I'll keep you safe and warm." Slowly, Ryou crossed the threshold of the hut.

"Even the Gods, won't dare to cross this line," Mana murmured as Ryou knelt by her and the boy, "Where my life is forever yours," She never noticed Ryou working his magic, as the boy slowly stirred.

"And you are mine," She looked at him, as he started to rise, him cupping her cheek as he sat up.

"And you are mine," He repeated her, both standing.

"Mine…" They trailed off, before saying in unison,

"We'll race away in a car, as silver as a moon. And the storm will turn to sun, on an island where the Earth and see are one!"

Ryou smiled; it may have been going a little far, but it was anything he could do to prove that love was stronger than death.

"Sure as this night, leads to a sky of blue," The two looked at each other, "Sure as my heart leads me to be with you!" Looking to the side, it was almost as if they were gazing through the hut wall to something farther away. "Surely the Gods meant this to be a sign, that my life is forever yours, and you are…"

"Mine!" Bakura cried, cutting through the lovely couple, instantly withering Ryou's magic, causing them to crumple. "Mine!" Looking at Mana, he sneered.

"Arrogant fool!" He snarled at the brunette. "Think you can hold back Death!"

"Stay away!" Mana cried, throwing herself over the boy, to protect him.

"This boy is mine, I am his dying breath!" Bakura claimed, stepping towards him. Mana shook her head and tried to scoot away from the God.

"I won't let you have him!" She declared, not registering that this was truly a God and the he could cause her to disintegrate in a moment.

"Sure as the grave," He warned her. "You must accept what is! Now his life is forever mine…" Then, Mana did the unthinkable.

"Take mine for his!" She gave herself up to the God, throwing herself over the boy's body to protect him. Bakura recoiled, as if he had been branded by a hot iron.

"What?" He growled through clenched teeth, and Mana repeated her offer.

"Take my life," She offered. "My soul, for his." Bakura regarded the girl carefully. Even if she wouldn't give the boy up… This could be of use to him later. Still, he had to try and end this silly little quarrel with Love now.

"I am the road, leading to no return." Bakura tried to sway Mana, but she shook her head as she stood up to face the God.

"I would die for him." Bakura grimaced. He did not want to draw this out!

"Secret of life, nobody wants to lean!" He called. "I am the car, racing towards distant shores!" It was through. Mana would not give up. She would kill herself if that mean that the boy would live; she was far beyond head over heels for him.

"Now his life is forever mine," Mana declared, knowing that he would live.

"Your life is forever mine," Bakura grinned evilly, and Mana sighed.

"And I am…" She paused, before Bakura prodded her to say it. "Yours." He smirked, and started to laugh, cackling like a more than mad scientist.

Silly little Love may have won this battle, but he hadn't won the war. Not yet. Death would still prevail.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, the grandhommes were reminiscing of their past.

"The Sad Tale of the Akunadins, a history lesson!" Bakura claimed with glee above the members of the hotel, as they said amongst themselves:

"Some say," The men chanted, while the women floated through with their airy forms of the words. "Some say, some say…"

"The boy's name was Atem; Atem Akunadin," Amane's voice stated through the people, who quieted. "A boy from another world, another people. A people descended from the French!"

"Four generations pass, in the time of Napoleon, there came to our island, a Frenchman Akunumkanon!" Ryuuji crowed from his position among the ricjh.

"Akunumkanon!" The people agreed, and a man stepped forward to play the part.

"Akunumkanon." He stated. "And he built a great fortune, and he built a grand mansion, and he wed a fine lady, so pale, and so blonde." A blonde rich girl stepped forward to play the part.

"Akunumkanon." She said, stepping forward to be with the man.

"But Akunumkanon took his pleasure with the women who served him," She scoffed, taking a step away. "Young peasant girls from the village beyond." Amane and another women smiled coyly, stepping up next to the man.

"Akunumkanon," They chimed together.

"And the loveliest one," Amane told the people, "Bore the Frenchman a son. Such a fine peasant son,"

"For Akunumkanon," Said man cut through the Goddess's words.

"A beautiful child," Ryou picked up from where Amane left off. "The pale color of coffee mixed with cream."

"The beautiful one," Everybody sang together, "The beautiful son, Akunadin."

"They named him," Ryuuji informed the crowd, "Akunadin.

"The beautiful one, the beautiful son, Akunadin." The story tellers all went together.

"And the boy grew to be a man!" Bakura crowed over the rich people. "And the great war began!"

"Blacks fought against French," The storytellers all acted like they were fighting, acting like they were hitting each other and wrestling. "And they hated Napoleon. They fought for their island and finally won!"

"We won," The men stated, as Akunadin came up.

"We won!" He raised his hand in the air, a symbol of victory. "And Akunumkanon sailed for France by the seat of his pants, driven out, by his beautiful son!"

"The beautiful one, the beautiful son, Akundain. Akunadin." The storytellers quoted, standing.

"What was his is now mine!" Akundain claimed as the storytellers said once more,

"The beautiful one, the beautiful son, Akunadin."

"But Akunumkanon left behind a terrible, terrible curse." Ryou stated, walking through the throngs of people. "I curse my son."

"I curse my only son!" Akunumkanon shouted angrily, waving his fist.

"I curse his sons," Amane added.

"All of his sons!" Akunumkanon was in Akunadin's face.

"Generations," Ryuuji said as well, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"All Akunadin's yet unborn!" Akunumkanon tacked on as well.

"In advance," The three Gods looked down upon the two.

"Your black blood will keep you forever on this island," Akunumkanon sneered at all the partygoers. "While your hearts yearn forever- for France!"

"The unlucky one, the unlucky son, Akundin. Akunadin." The storytellers all said sadly. "From bad blood to worse," Their voices took a tone of distaste, "The name of the curse, Akunadin."

They all gave a collective sigh, settling down back in their seats.

"They despise, they deny us," They sighed. "We remind them, where they're from. The sad, sad tale, of the Akunadin! Akunadin!"

Sighing, the four gods shook their heads before disappearing from the scene. After all, a new scene was getting ready to happen.

Mahaado returned from the other side of the island, bringing back the boy's people. In a daze, Mana cried out when the men took Atem from her. It… It couldn't be happening! He couldn't be leaving her!

"Mahaado, he needs me!" Mana cried, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Without me, he'll die!" Isis shook her head.

"He will not want you Mana," Isis told her, touching her arm. Mana shook her head, watching as the cars disappeared from sight.

"Please Mama!" She begged. "Please Mahaado! Give me your blessing and let me go! I will go to him!" Isis sighed.

"What can I say, to stop you now?" She placed her hands on Mana's shoulders, looking her adopted daughter in the eyes. "Now that you've heard your drums and seen your dancers. Now that you think your heart has all the answers." Isis felt tears forming in her eyes and wiped them away.

"Who knows how high those mountains climb?" She asked rhetorically. "Who knows how deep those rivers flow? Who knows how wrong a dream can go, Mana?"

"I won't be there to guide your way," Mahaado chimed in, placing his hand on Mana's head fondly.

"To braid your hair, or dry your tears," Isis added, looking at Mahaado. "As we've done these many years, Mana. Mana…"

"What you are, we made you," Mahaado told her. "What we gave you took. Now you go, without one backward look." Mana looked between her mother and her father. Both of them looked like they were about to cry.

"You'll find some other boy to save," Isis said at last, tears leaking down her cheeks. "Some other life that you can share. You're heart is young- new dreams are everywhere. Choose your dreams with care, Mana."

"But I have chosen, Mama." Mana looked at her parents. "I'm not a child any longer!" Stepping out from her parents, she took their hands, smiling.

"What I am, you made me," She answered them, "What you gave, I owe. But if I look back, I'll never go! Who knows how high those mountains climb?"

"Who knows how high those mountains climb?" Her parents echoed wistfully.

"Who knows how deep those rivers flow?" She asked again, as her parents echoed once more. "I know he's there, that's all I need to know!"

"Go and find your love," Mahaado sighed at last.

"Go and swim the sea," Isis placed her hand on Mana's shoulder, looking at her with a sad smile. "You know where we'll be." Mana nodded, placing a hand over her heart.

"Always there, with me," She smiled.

"Mana," Isis and Mahaado sighed, watching as their daughter turned to go and leave.

While, in the shadows, a figure scowled scornfully. Turning, he vanished in the darkness, leaving not a whisper in his wake.

"But on this island, the Earth sings," Shizuka exclaimed gleefully a mile from the village, popping from a tree. "As soon as the storm ends!" She giggled, spinning a little ways ahead on the road in front of Mana, flowers blossoming in the young deity's wake.

Shizuka spun around, more flowers popping up as she bounced around a tree, whirling, bringing Yugi with her on her spin back.

"And when Mana set out, she realized," Yugi yelped as he crashed into a tree that Shizuka passed straight through. "That she was walking with old friends!"

"The birds," Shizuka giggled, once more, giving a hand to help the love deity up. Yugi took the proffered hand and stood up as the birds sang out in a harmony, gathering along the road as Mana skipped along.

"The trees," Yugi said as well, the trees sighing as Mana went along.

"The frogs," Malik appeared, chiming in as well, stepping nervously away from said aquatic creatures as they 'ribbited' menacingly at him.

"And the breezes," Honda added, the breeze swirling through the air, as the figure the deity represented appeared behind him.

"Mana lost all her fear," Ryuuji laughed. "She knew Amane was near." The four deities and God disappeared seemingly into thin air as Mana skipped down the road, stuttering to a halt as a swirl of leaves appeared in front of her in the form of the Goddess Amane, and her disciple, Shizuka.

Mana stared at the Goddess, unsure of what to do. From the tales and legends she had heard, Amane was second to her sibling God Bakura, Demon of Death, in terms of meanness. What was the Goddess going to do? Laugh at her? Tell her to go back home, that she would fail?

However, her fears were alleviated when Amane started talking.

"You've never been away from the sea child," Amane clapped her hands together with a wink. "You're gonna need a helping hand. A fish has got to learn to swim on land!" Mana could hardly suppress a giggle as Shizuka, the Earth Goddess' deity spun around, laying hands on her arms, spinning them up next to Amane.

"Walk with me little girl, don't you be afraid," Amane clasped a hand on Mana's shoulder. "Follow me little girl, let me be your guide!" The two started walking, Mana simply listening to the goddess, watching as Shizuka spun around and around ahead, causing fairy rings and flowers to pop up.

"A pretty thing like you," Amane stated, pausing to lift up Mana's chin to look her square in the eyes. "Will need a thing or two. So, whatever you need, Mama will provide!" Shizuka smiled, dancing back to Mana with a ring of daisies, placing them on the young girls' head before running off again to create more flowers and such.

"Oh, down the road, little girl, you may lose your way." Amane mused as they walked down the road. "All alone in a world that may seem too wide; but sit on Mama's lap, and I will draw a map- and whatever you need, Mama will provide! I'll provide you…" There was a pause as Shizuka's face bobbed back into Mana's sight.

"Moss!" Shizuka held up a patch of the green stuff, before letting it drop.

"To soften the road," Amane explained.

"Rocks!" Standing upon the aforementioned item a ways ahead, Shizuka waved happily.

"To sit on," Amane said with a shrug.

"Trees!" Shizuka was now sitting on a tree branch.

"To sleep underneath." Amane laughed at Mana's quizzical expression, getting confused by Shizuka's seemingly hyper-active ways.

"Sand!" Shizuka exclaimed, and thankfully for Mana, there was none for Shizuka to accidentally throw in her face.

"Fun for your toes." Amane really laughed this time at Mana's expression.

"Plantain!" Flowers appeared at Shizuka's feet, rooting her to the ground a ways ahead of Amane and Mana- by the look on Shizuka's face, she would bet that it had been Amane's doing to try and calm her disciple down.

"To fill up your belly." Amane's arm still hadn't left Mana's shoulder.

"Breeze!" Shizuka yelped as she attempted to free her feet and getting prickled by thorns.

"To fan your face," Amane's amusement had now switched to her disciple, who was trying to escape the vines and thorns encasing her feet and legs.

"Grass!" Shizuka chimed, yanking a foot free just to topple backwards and get her wrists ensnared.

"For making your bed!" Amane smirked, the list having gone through. Shizuka tilted her head to the side, and she was freed from her entrapments. She sat up, scratched the side of her head, and perked up as she said the last thing.

"Mosquitos?" Shizuka asked, and Amane scoffed, scrunching her nose, arm leaving Mana's shoulders.

"Ha!" Amane laughed, turning towards Mana, pointing a finger at her accusingly. Mana gulped nervously. "Bugs will bite little girl and the night will fall. All alone in the dark you'll be terrified."

Amane paused, as if thinking something over while Mana stood there nervously.

"But," Amane sighed, holding a hand out to Mana, who took it a bit warily. "You will make it through, cause I am liking you! And whatever you need, Mama will provide." Amane smiled, walking along with Mana once more.

"Walk with me little girl and I'll take you far," Amane smiled, looking Mana straight in the eyes. Shizuka had long since disappeared. "Round each bend little friend, I'll be by your side. That's what a Mama's worth- to give her child the Earth. And whatever you need, Mama will provide!"

Amane gave Mana one last smile before disappearing in a swirl of wind and leaves. A tear trailed down Mana's face at the thought of her own adoptive mother, but she wiped it away quickly. She would get Atem back and she would return home with him, proving that she could love him and he could love her back.

"Oh Atem," Mana sung happily as she skipped down the road once more. "Mama will provide! When you awaken, I'll be by your side! Oh Atem…" Mana skipped down the road, disappearing into the woods as she traversed the paths that would take her to the rich side of the island.

"Some say," Bakura mused, stepping out of the shadows of a tree as Mana disappeared. "How Mana began the long journey towards the city."

"Some say," The Gods and their disciples mused.

"Some say her feet were bare and the road was long and cruel," Ryou posed, from his spot in the shade of an oak tree.

"Some say…" The Gods looked from one to the other.

"Some say she got a ride from a vendor and his mule." Ryuuji offered, laughing as he sat on a tree branch above a scowling Ryou, who was trying to get the leaves out of his hair.

"Some say…" They offered once more, and Bakura shook his head, trying to keep from laughing.

"Some say the God pulled up in a car and drove her all the way," He laughed, and the Gods just shook their heads. What mortals could come up with in their spare time.

"Well, no one knows how the real truth goes, but that's what some say." The disciples shrugged together, looking at their respective Gods. "Some say…"

"And how far did she travel?" Rebecca interrupted, eyes going starry eyed at the story. The story tellers hushed her with indulgences to her questions.

"As far as you suppose," They replied.

"And how long did it take her?" Rebecca asked, curious.

"Much longer than your nose," The story tellers laughed. They made to continue the story, but Rebecca cut in once more.

"And was she ever frightened?" She stood up eagerly. "Or was her love too strong? And did she know she'd end up in our story and our song?"

"Our story and our song…" The story tellers mused themselves before shaking their heads and continuing with the story.

"Some say…" The Gods and disciples wondered together, Bakura stepping up once more.

"What happened when Mana finally reached the city?" He laughed raucously, their positions shifting to that of one's inside the prestigious city for the rich.

"Some say…" The Gods looked through the city, watching as smiling faces turned into ones of scowls and deceit, whispering behind friends and family's backs.

"Some say they laughed at her for her peasant feet were bare," Ryou called, from his position by a group of giggling girls who were looking at the young God in his human form.

"Some say…" Now it was the crowd whispering, looking at Mana- her mussed brown hair, her kohl streaked face, and dirty clothes.

"Some say that the vendor man gave her shoes to small to wear!" Ryuuji laughed, watching as Ryou backed away nervously from the group of girls he had been standing by instead of looking at Mana.

"Some say…" A pair of people by Amane's spot at a produce stand were saying.

"Some say," Amane stated standing on a crate, form invisible to all but the Gods and disciples and a mere voice to Mana, "The Gods said 'Put on the shoes, it's the price you have to pay!'"

"The shoes were tight, but she said," Yugi chimed, watching and doing nothing as his God continued to back away from the love-struck girls.

"Alright!" Rebecca cut through the story telling, wincing at the glares she received and offering a sheepish look.

"Well, that's what some say," Malik scoffed, tossing his head lightly.

"Some say…" The scene transformed once more to the gates of the wonderful hotel that was run by Atem's family.

"At last Mana reached to gates of the Hotel," Ryuuji declared, the four gods standing atop of the wall beside the gate.

"Stop!" The guard at the gate shouted, hand going up to stop the young girl from continuing her trek. Mana's face fell; she had come this far! Why couldn't she go and get to Atem? Why couldn't people see that he needed her? Without her, he would die!

"But the Gods looked down, and the Gates swung open." Ryou stated with a smile, as he waved his hand; the gates swung open, and the guard stepped aside, allowing Mana passage. She looked up to the top of the wall, but she saw nothing. Nothing to insinuate that she had had help. "And Mana went in to search for her Atem."

"Some say," The Gods watched as Mana made her way into the hotel, Amane speaking. "Some say she scrubbed the floors till she learned where he was kept."

"Some say…" Bakura shook his head laughing. "Some say she climbed a vine to the window where he slept." The Gods' disciples all just shook their heads.

"Some say," Shizuka and Yugi were speaking. "Some say the Gods just lifted her up and placed her where he lay."

"Well, no one knows how the real truth goes," The Gods said their words floating over through the air. "It all depends what you hear from friends. But, that's what some say. That's what some say. That's what some say…"

Meanwhile, Mana was making her way into Atem's room. Bumping into a table, she caused it to jostle and rattle enough to cause Atem to waken.

Atem stirred, at first thinking it was nothing. However, seeing a shadow moving across the room caused him to think otherwise.

"Who's there?" He called out, sitting up. "I will call the guards!" Hesitantly, Mana stepped outside of the shadows, into the small beam of moonlight that was flowing through the open window.

"Who're you?" Atem demanded. He knew he shouldn't be sitting up, but he didn't care. He was annoyed- and albeit, a little curious about why this girl was in his quarters. She was no more than a mere child!

"M-Mana," She replied a bit nervously. Seeing his raised eyebrows, she quickly said, "The Gods sent me. I am here to make you well." Atem gave a curious look. The _Gods_ sent _her_.

"You're very young," Was what Atem chose to say.

"I came all this way to be with you." Mana pleaded, sitting on the edge of Atem's bed. "Please let me stay." Atem paused, thinking it over, before sighing.

"Alright," He answered, neither noticing as something covered the moon, inside the room, in front of the window. "Show me some of these tricks of yours that will make me well, pretty Mana sent by the Gods." If Atem noticed Mana's blush he paid no heed.

As the two started to talk, the figure by the window stepped out a little, their form illuminating.

It was Ryou, God of Love, with Yugi trailing behind him and Shizuka off to the side.

"The courage of a dreamer," Ryou smiled, hands clasped together, words whispering on a breeze through the open window. "The innocence of youth. The failures and the foolishness that lead us to the truth."

"The hopes that make us happy," Yugi and Shizuka smiled, standing by the God.

"The hopes that don't come true." Ryou shook his head- how much failure there was with him for those. "And all the love there ever was, I see this all in you."

"You are part," The three said together. "Part of the Human Heart. You are part…"

"Of all who took the journey," Ryou sighed. "And managed to endure. The ones who knew such tenderness, the ones who felt so sure." He shook his head- he couldn't let Bakura get her, he couldn't. She was too pure- too innocent. She deserved the love that she was working hard to earn.

"The ones who came before you," Yugi and Shizuka looked towards the two, who still hadn't noticed them- either that or they were pretending that they weren't hearing.

"The others yet to come," Ryou added, a small tear coming to his eye. "And those who you will teach it to, and those you learned it from. You are part- part of the Human Heart."

"You are part," Yugi and Shizuka chimed. "You are part…"

"This is the gift I give," Ryou held out his hand, waving it. "Through your love you'll live forever… Forever…" yugi and Shizuka smiled softly.

"You are part," They looked over at the pair. "Part of the… You are part…"

"You are part, tonight…" Ryou backed towards the window. "Tonight. Part of the Human Heart."

And on the breeze, the three were gone.

Meanwhile, in the darkness, a form laughed darkly. This was too easy! Love was so… _breakable_. There was no way the poor God of Love, Ryou would win this battle. The time was coming. The time, where he would seize victory.

And there was nothing that the little Love God could do about, he laughed as he moved on to a different part of the hotel.

Night faded to day, and soon morning was dawning upon the castle. News of Mana's appearance had spread around the castle, gossip going through the wings. People were appalled, confused, and some thought it was nice, but there was no one more outraged then one Teá Gardner.

She sat in her room of the Hotel, at her vanity, staring at her reflection, scrutinizing every inch of her. Mana had been here for almost a week, and while Atem was getting better… But still! What did Atem see in that poor peasant girl?

"Now what can he want with a girl like her?" Teá scoffed, scrunching up her nose. "Out of the fields and low as dirt." She stood up moving to her window, not noticing the figure behind her, chuckling, evil words, being wrapped around her head, said thoughts floating out before she could realize them.

"He could have the world but takes a peasant- perhaps his brain was hurt." Teá looked out of the window scorn now written all over her face, though it hadn't been before. She was looking down at the sight of Mana and Atem, outside in the courtyard for the first time since either had arrived "Look how she holds him- touches and attends him!"

"The boy believes she can make him well," The voice floated through the room, and Teá's gaze was torn from the window to look at the room. Who had said that? "And she has him in a spell." The voice was by her ear, and she turned once more, to find herself staring out the window once more, watching down as a transaction went between Mana and Atem. And though she could not hear the words being said, Teá found herself getting angry at the fact that Atem was still around that girl!

"You are my charm Mana," Atem smiled, holding her hands. "Without you, I shall never be whole again!" Mana blushed, and stuttered a bit before managing to reply.

"I… will never leave you Atem," She finally managed with a smile. Teá scoffed again at the transaction, though she didn't know what was said.

"Now what do you make of a peasant like that?" She snarled, not registering the thoughts and words and phrases being whispered into her ears as she turned away from the window. "Putting on airs without a doubt. When Atem is well and does not need her, how soon he'll throw her out!" Her back was to the window, but the figure whispering in her ear could see the scene clearly.

"Soon I'll be dancing!" Atem laughed, bounding a couple of steps ahead of Mana, who was pretty much his self appointed healer. Mana nodded, smile a glow on her face.

"But for now you must walk slowly Atem," She chided lightly, not noticing the smirk on her charges face.

"Then you must walk even more slowly Mana," He grinned, and Mana turned to look at Atem.

"Why?" She asked, a bit of a lilt of happiness in her voice.

"So I can catch you!" And Atem made a lunge for Mana who gave a small yelp and darted off down through the maze of a garden. Atem made to follow, but a hand on his shoulder halted him.

"Atem." Said boy stopped, looking over his shoulder up into the cold face of his father.

"Papa." He responded, staring unabashedly into the glaring eyes boring holes into his head.

"How long do you think you'll be playing this game?" He demanded of his son, who blinked in confusion.

"This is no game!" Atem protested honestly.

"Surely you can't believe it's real." His father scowled, and Atem shook his head.

"I'm in love with Mana!" He was- Atem was truly in love with Mana. In love with her, yet the sad truth was…

"You are not the first to want a peasant," Atem looked up at his father, who sighed. "I, too, know their appeal. But, you are my son and you'll do what must be done. No matter what you feel."

The message was clear. There was no getting around it.

"I know what he sees in a peasant like her," Teá scoffed from her window. "She probably makes him rise like yeast." She gave a light laugh.

"The girl may think she's very clever, the boy may want to keep her here forever." Teá shook her head. "But I can tell you this, they'll never stand before a priest!"

The long shadow cast behind the jealous girl though by the setting sun, wasn't hers, but something darker and more ominous looking.

"Mana!" Atem called, strolling casually to the bench in the centermost part of the garden. "There you are."

"Atem!" Mana laughed, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug. However, her delight was short-lived, as she soon found Atem's hands prying hers away from his waist.

"We need to talk," Atem said carefully, sitting down on the bench, not noticing the way Mana's expression slowly started to waver.

"About what?" Mana asked, sitting down next to Atem, voice steady as not to betray the way her heart was beating traitorously fast.

Atem sighed and looked down at his hands, trying to figure out what to say and how to explain himself. A hand was waved in front of his face, and he blinked himself back into reality. Atem blinked and lifted his head. Before Mana could ask what was wrong though, a smile was a light on his face and he had taken her hands into his.

"Some girls," He hesitated a mere moment before continuing. "Take hours to paint every perfect nail. Fragrant as flowers, powdered and prim and pale." Mana nodded a bit uncertainly, not sure where Atem was going with this.

"But you are as wild as that wind-blown tree." Atem allowed himself a smile towards the younger child. "As dark and as deep as the midnight sea. While they're busy dressing, you lie here, warm and bold. Some girls you picture, some you hold…" Mana blinked, head tilting to the side. She opened her mouth to speak, but Atem's finger on her lips shushed her with a blush.

"Some girls take courses at all the best schools," He continued. "Riding their horses and learning their modern dance. They're clever and cultured and worldly wise…" A hand reached up to caress the side of Mana's face.

"But you see the world through a child's wide eyes." The hand dropped slowly to the side, as if regretting what it had just done. "They're dreams are grand ones, while you want what's just in reach. Some girls you learn from… Some you teach."

"You are not small talk or shiny cars or mirrors or cologne," Atem smiled sadly. "You are the river, the moon, the stars. You're no one else I've ever known." A hand was placed on Mana's shoulder, and Atem was hoping that she was receiving the right message.

"Some girls take pleasure in buying a fine trousseau," Atem whispered, hand ruffling Mana's hair. "Counting each treasure and tying each tiny bow. They fold up their futures with perfumed hands, while you face the future with no demands. Some girls, expect things others think nothing of." Atem turned towards Mana, cupping her cheek in his hand, causing a blush to spread across her face and avert her eyes.

"Some girls you marry…" A pause, and then a barely audible, "Some you love…" A noise rattled from the nearby bush, causing them both to jump, and look away from each other.

"I-I must go," Mana said at last, and disappeared around the hedges, leaving a downtrodden looking Atem by his lonesome, a shadow that wasn't his extending from behind him.

"The grandhommes at the Hotel ball," The participants in the ball sang and danced gaily. "Dancing to their own little tune." The gods around the scene smiled, shooting each other smirks and knowing looks from their various outfits spread across the room.

"Waiting to see… Mana!" They smirked, watching as the crowd parted for two people to cut through, the stars of the night. Teá and Atem.

"Some girls are saying, she's simple as any child," She asked, as the couple danced.

"Please, Teá," Daniel sighed, but Teá wouldn't hear it.

"Barefoot and praying, and running the halls quite wild!" Teá continued.

"Teá," Atem's tone was warning, but she wouldn't stop.

"And is she as pretty as we've all heard?" Teá sighed wistfully. "Your own pretty… Well, what's the word?"

Atem opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped as a figure slipped around what the two didn't know to be Ryou, God of Love. Recognition burned in both eyes, and Teá caught it quickly.

"So this is your Mana," She said at last, looking over the brunette who seemed so similar to her, yet not. "How beautiful she is." Atem hesitated, then took a position between the two.

"Mana," He introduced. "May I present Teá Gartner." Mana hesitated herself, before uttering a small,

"Hello." Teá smiled a hawk's smile back, the illusion of politeness and evil at the same time.

"I'm so happy to meet you, my dear Mademoiselle," She smiled, giving curtsy to the girl. "I've heard you're a healer, and a dancer as well." A hawks eye gleam, before she turned to the other partygoers, talking to Mana, but looking at everybody else.

"Won't you dance for us now, won't you give us a show?" Turning to Mana, there was another smile. "Please Mademoiselle, don't say no!" Mana bit her lip, but before she could say anything, Atem laid his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't be afraid Mana," He smiled to the girl. "Dance as you always have. Just for me."

Mana nodded, and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as Atem and Teá backed away with the others at the ball, and in her mind she could almost hear voices.

"We dance," That one was Isis's.

"We dance," That voice was almost like her own as a child.

"We dance… We dance!" That one was Isis, the younger her, and Mahaado's. Smiling, she opened her eyes and did what her people were best at.

Dancing.

"Atem," Teá sighed, watching as Mana stood off to the side chatting with someone after her dance. "It's obvious that she's in love with you." Clasping his hands in her own, she looked at her with big eyes.

"If you care for her," She told Atem. "If you care for her at all, you need to tell her…" Teá stopped though, as Mana bounced up on excited heels, chattering incessantly to her Atem.

When it was obvious that Atem wasn't going to say anything, Teá stepped in herself.

"My dear Mademoiselle I have something to say," Teá cut in between Atem and Mana, standing in front of the latter, clasping her hands. "Something I fear was left unsaid. Many thanks to all you've given Atem, but do not be misled." Teá smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of Mana's face.

"My dear Mademoiselle, you dance so fear well," Teá's smile was sickeningly sweet as she talked with the young girl. "I pray you'll dance for Atem, and for me, when we… are wed." Mana's hands were dropped, as Teá lifted the hand with the gleaming engagement ring on it.

"Mana," Atem started carefully, looking at the girl's heartbroken expression. "Teá and I have been promised to each other since we were children. Our parents are old friends." Tears were pooling in Mana's eyes.

"But Atem!" Mana protested, however Atem shook his head.

"This is the way things are done Mana. It's to be expected." Mana shook her head, praying that this was a cruel trick as the shadows in the room grew longer and longer as the other people in the room seemed to disappear.

"Atem, please," She was trying her hardest not to let the tears fall from her eyes, but she wasn't succeeding.

"We can still be together." Atem tried to appease Mana, but she could see the lie clearly written on the others face.

"We'll… race away in a car!" Mana exclaimed, remembering what she had previously thought of her shining knight.

"I can't change who I am, or where I'm from," Atem shook his head, turning down Mana, but she tried anyways.

"As silver as the moon!" She pleaded, wishing this wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening!

"There will always be a place for you, here." Atem told Mana, a sad smile on his face, wishing that she could just get the picture already.

"We will live beside the sea," Mana shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "We'll have children, a garden, and a tree!" Atem shook his head, clasping a hand on the distraught girls shoulder.

"Mana, I thought you understood." He sighed, shaking his head. "We can never marry." Then, he stood, up, taking a few steps back, before he was gone from Mana's sights, engulfed in the darkness that now encompassed her.

"Oh gods…" Mana heaved between her sobs. "Oh gods… Are you there? Are you there…?" There was silence, before a cacophony of voices started rattling through the darkness, echoing, bouncing, overlapping together.

"_There can never be anything between a peasant and a grandhomme!"_

"_Marry you? You are mad!"_

"_You're not supposed to be in here!" "What would he want with a woman like that?_

"_If he lives the gods will be angry!" "The boy has the will of the devil himself!"_

"_He'll soon throw her out!"_

"_What can a peasant do for a grandhomme but shine his shoes?"_

"_He will not want you Mana!" "I can tell you this: they'll never stand before a priest!"_

"_Some girls you marry, some you love…"_

"_Oh Mana, what has this boy done to you?"_

"_The girl will have the gods to repay!"_

"_The Gods to repay!" "The Gods to repay!" __**"Gods to repay!"**_

"_**GODS TO REPAY!"**_

Breaking through all the voices was Mana's own, screaming.

"No! No! No…!" Then a dark laugh, howling madly, as before Mana stepped out the Demon of Death.

"There were promises made in the darkness!" Bakura cackled. "Promises made in your sleep!" He grinned, clenching his hand into a fist.

"Promises, the Gods demand you keep!" He declared, the fist uncurling and pointing at Mana.

"You gave him love, love he would soon betray, hah!" Bakura grinned. "You gave him life; I am the price you'll pay!" Reaching behind his back, Bakura pulled out a knife.

"Sure as the grave, you must accept what is!" He howled, raising the knife over his head as he stood above Mana's cowering form. "Now your life is forever mine…!"

"Don't, please!" Mana shrieked, hands covering her head in an attempt of protection. Bakura smirked.

"Trade yours for his." He offered, mad grin on his face.

"Wh-what?" Mana asked, not believing the God. Trade her life for… for Atem's? But… she loved Atem!

"You loved him," Bakura seemed to echo her thoughts as he circled the girl. "You saved him. And he betrayed you!" The last sentence was snapped.

"Why should you die for him now?" He asked, slowing to a stop in front of the girl. "Kill him Mana. Kill the love you feel." He held out the knife to the girl as she raised her head. "Prove that Death is stronger than Love, and you can have your old life again, just as if you have never loved at all."

Then, disappearing into the darkness, the knife dropped solely by itself to the ground as Bakura vanished and Mana picked it up. Slowly the darkness that had surrounded Mana dissipated, and Mana found herself walking, as if she wasn't in control of her body, out of the hall, towards the garden where Atem was.

"I am the road, leading to no return," Bakura's voice echoed throughout the garden, he himself standing at the one end of the scene, directly across from…

"The courage of a dreamer," Ryou, who was strongly trying to dissuade Mana from killing the one she loved.

"Secret of life, finally his to learn!" Bakura growled, clenching his hand into a fist.

"You are part!" Ryou yelled, throwing his hands across his body, as Mana got closer to Atem.

"I am the car, racing toward distant shores!" Mana was coming upon Atem's unsuspecting back.

"Part of the human heart!" Ryou pleaded desperately as Mana raised the knife, ready to plunge through Atem's heart.

"Now his life is forever mine…!" Bakura shouted as everybody seemed to echo.

"Forever…!" Ryou could barely stand to watch the scene, until finally…

"I can't!" Mana wailed, a hand grasping her forearm with the knife, Atem whirling around, to see Mana on the ground, clutching the knife that had just been ready to end his life.

"Atem, I love you!" She cried as Atem backed away from the girl, the knife clattering harmlessly to the ground as rain slowly started to fall.

"And Mana was cast out of the Hotel," Amane watched emotionlessly as the girl was dragged off the grounds to the outside. "And the gates slammed shut behind her."

"The gods sent me!" Mana pleaded at the gates for days. "They want me to be with him! Tell Atem I'm here. Tell him. Tell him Mana's waiting for him."

"And Mana did wait. She waited at the gates for days, weeks on end, not sleeping, not eating, only waiting." Tears slipped down Shizuka and Yugi's cheeks as the girl they had watched for the past weeks slowly withered away, dying.

"Then, at last, Atem and Teá were married," Malik continued. "And, as superstition dictated, they came to the gates to throw coins to the peasants, to ensure their own fortunes would multiply."

As the happy couple threw coins out to the peasants, Mana and Atem's eyes crossed each others, and for a fleeting moment, Atem could not recognize Mana. She had changed so much, because of him. Stopping in front of her, Atem pressed a coin into her hand.

"Atem!" Teá's voice called out, and Atem was turning from Mana, leaving the girl alone again.

Alone, where she would eventually…

"Oh Mana…" She was dreaming, Mana was sure of it. That's why Isis was here. "Oh Mana. You will always be a part of us, oh Mana." She was crying. Mana didn't like it when Isis cried. It made her cry too.

"Oh Mana…" It was her little self again she was hearing. "Oh Mana…"

"You will always be a part of us, oh Mana." Now it was all three of them, Isis, herself, and Mahaado.

"Oh Mana," They chorused together. "Oh Mana, you will always be a part of us. Oh Mana…"

"And the Gods began to cry, tears of compassion for the orphan Mana," Ryou proclaimed. "Who proved that love could withstand the storm, cross the earth, and survive, even in the face of Death."

"Ryou took her by the hand, and led her to the sea," The disciples said together. Ryou knelt by Mana, lifting her face up gently, so she could see into his face, before picking up her hand, taking her down towards the sea.

"Where Ryuuji wrapped her in a wave and laid to her rest," Face tearstained, Ryou allowed Ryuuji to take Mana from him, wrapping her in the oceans waves.

"And Bakura was gentle, as he carried her to shore." Ryuuji said nothing as Bakura scooped up Mana's knees, carrying her as one would a bride.

"And Amane accepted her, and held her to her breast," Amane hugged the lifeless girl in Bakura's arms, all the Gods crying. "Held her to her breast."

Everybody was crowded together, around the dead girl. Then, Yugi, came wiggling out of the bunch.

"And then the Gods blessed her!" He smiled. "And transformed her into…"

"A tree!" Everybody shouted, smiling, and suddenly Mana's body was gone, and in its place was a healthy tree.

"A tree that sprang up and cracked the wall of the grandhommes Hotel, so its gates could never close again!" Amane declared.

"A tree that lived forever, sheltering peasants and grandhomme alike!" Ryuuji added.

"A tree that watched over Atem for his lifetime," Ryou smiled fondly. "A tree in which his children played!"

"And one day, as Atem's young son sat in the shade of the tree," Shizuka and Yugi smiled together. "He noticed a beautiful young peasant girl high in the branches, looking out at the world. And the spirit of Mana touched their hearts and set them free to love!"

A flash of lightning erupted throughout the scene.

"And she stands against the lightning and the thunder!" Mana's voice echoed throughout the landscape.

"And she shelters and protects from above," Atem smiled, looking at the bright blue sky. "As she fills us with the power and the wonder of her love!"

"And this is why, we tell the story!" Everybody started singing. "Why we tell the story."

"If you listen very hard you'll hear her call us," Isis said.

"To come share with us our laughter and our tears," Mahaado added.

"And as mysteries and miracles befall us, through the years," Teá and Atem chimed in as well. "We tell the story!"

"We tell the story!" Everybody shouted, the scene disappearing to reveal the storytellers once more.

"Life is why," The girls sang, the guys singing, "We tell the story," as an echo.

"Pain is why, we tell the story. Love is why we tell the story." They were all smiling. "Grief is why we tell the story. Hope is why we tell the story. Faith is why we tell the story."

Turning towards Rebecca, they pointed at her.

"You are why," They proclaimed, "We tell the story!"

"So I hope that you will tell this tale tomorrow," They all sang. "It will help your heart remember and relive. It will help you feel the anger and the sorrow…"

"And forgive." Mana smiled, her shadow standing prominently in the middle of the half-circle that had been formed.

"For all the ones we leave, and we believe." They all slowly started to sit down. "Our lives become the stories that we weave."

"There is an island," Rebecca said, sitting center with the shadow of Mana. "Where the rivers run deep. Where the sea, sparkling in the sun, earns it the name, Jewel of the Antilles. And island, where the poorest of peasants labor, and the wealthiest of grandhommes play. And on this island, we tell the story."

"We tell the story…"

_**~~Owari~~**_

Yeah... So, how was it? Good? Bad? Horrid? (Probably one the last three...)

Like I said before, this was a long term project, and as I don't have a Beta, there is most likely grammar and spelling mistakes that I more than likely didn't catch. But other than that, it should be alright.

So, please read and review and tell me what you think!

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out!~~


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